Marks Spencer
MOVING MOUNTAINS AT MARKS & SPENCER
This case was prepared by Martin
Christopher and
Helen Peck of
Cranfield School of Management,
Cranfield University
Bedford,
United Kingdom.
ABSTRACT
Marks & Spencer had long been the doyenne of British retailing, its name a by-word for quality, service and value for money. Having turned in record profits for 1998 and accelerated its global expansion plans, things suddenly went horribly wrong for the retailer. Out-of-touch management, complacency in marketing and above all an ossified supply chain were subsequently identified as root causes of the retailer’s problems.
Marks & Spencer’s partnership approach to supply chain management had made it a textbook favorite and the subject of numerous magazine articles, almost all of them complimentary. But how had things slipped so far without anyone noticing and, importantly, what could be done to put things right?
The case examines the events leading up to the retailer’s fall from grace, its management’s efforts to put things right and the results of their endeavors. It leaves the reader to identify the pitfalls in the course of action taken and to recommend what changes might be made to retrieve the situation.
MOVING MOUNTAINS AT MARKS & SPENCER
INTRODUCTION
For managers at Marks & Spencer the year 2000 was turning out to be a less than auspicious transition from one century to the next. The previous 18 months had seen cadres of senior staff dismissed or redeployed in newly created posts with job descriptions that bore little resemblance to the ones they’d had before. Few would argue that the company had lost its way in recent times, becoming complacent and out of touch with the customer. Now though the company was fighting back with enticing new stores, products, services and a sophisticated new image. However, as newly appointed marketing director Alan McWalter had pointed out, it was going to take more than smart new store layouts to turn around the struggling giant.
“We won’t
This case was prepared by Martin
Christopher and
Helen Peck of
Cranfield School of Management,
Cranfield University
Bedford,
United Kingdom.
ABSTRACT
Marks & Spencer had long been the doyenne of British retailing, its name a by-word for quality, service and value for money. Having turned in record profits for 1998 and accelerated its global expansion plans, things suddenly went horribly wrong for the retailer. Out-of-touch management, complacency in marketing and above all an ossified supply chain were subsequently identified as root causes of the retailer’s problems.
Marks & Spencer’s partnership approach to supply chain management had made it a textbook favorite and the subject of numerous magazine articles, almost all of them complimentary. But how had things slipped so far without anyone noticing and, importantly, what could be done to put things right?
The case examines the events leading up to the retailer’s fall from grace, its management’s efforts to put things right and the results of their endeavors. It leaves the reader to identify the pitfalls in the course of action taken and to recommend what changes might be made to retrieve the situation.
MOVING MOUNTAINS AT MARKS & SPENCER
INTRODUCTION
For managers at Marks & Spencer the year 2000 was turning out to be a less than auspicious transition from one century to the next. The previous 18 months had seen cadres of senior staff dismissed or redeployed in newly created posts with job descriptions that bore little resemblance to the ones they’d had before. Few would argue that the company had lost its way in recent times, becoming complacent and out of touch with the customer. Now though the company was fighting back with enticing new stores, products, services and a sophisticated new image. However, as newly appointed marketing director Alan McWalter had pointed out, it was going to take more than smart new store layouts to turn around the struggling giant.
“We won’t